Walter and Aazealh are joined by a special, brainy guest to answer some of the most-asked questions about Berserk. Is there really a difference between fate and causality? Maybe apostles aren't so bad? What's an idolm@ster, anyway? Listen along as we decapitate every misconception in existence.

Timestamps for all questions:00:02:40 - 1. What's the difference between Fate and Causality in Berserk?00:07:55 - 2. Why doesn't Guts just use the beherit to get more power and defeat Griffith?00:11:30 - 3. Did Griffith even have a choice at the Eclipse? Is there "free will" in Berserk?00:15:13 - 4. Griffith's sacrifice is incomplete because Guts and Casca are still alive.00:17:05 - 5. If Griffith is the Falcon of Light does that make Guts the Falcon of Darkness?00:22:15 - 6. Why were they on the boat for so long?00:27:49 - 7. The Dragonslayer must have gotten a big upgrade from killing the sea god.00:30:05 - 8. What happened during the Incarnation Ceremony?00:37:13 - 9. Who is the "moonlight boy?"00:44:43 - 10. What is "evil" and "evil" power in Berserk?00:48:18 - 11. What are the apostles, and how are they made? 00:51:19 - 12. What happened on top of Ganishka anyway, and why did it result in the world changing?01:01:55 - 13. What is the Beast of Darkness? 01:05:52 - 14. What's the relationship between the Beast and the Berserk's Armor?01:09:19 - 15. Beherits require blood to use.01:10:52 - 16. Is the Idea of Evil real? Is it considered canon? 01:13:17 - 17. Casca enjoyed being raped / Casca was already raped by apostles.01:19:04 - 18. Misconceptions about Kentarou Miura01:33:20 - 19. Why are astral wounds different from physical wounds?01:37:20 - 20. Elves only encompass winged beings like Puck and Ivalera.01:40:25 - 21. The Black Swordsman Arc spoils the Golden Age Arc.

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Awesome stuff, thanks for taking the time to do this episode. I've been guilty of a few of these misconceptions and these straight forward answers are going to increase the understanding and appreciation of the story for a lot of people. It's great to hear these board discussions come to life. It's clear you guys put a lot of work into this!

As I was listening I remembered something that has bothered me for a long time so let me add my own dumb question to the list! What sort of being is the demon child? I always imagined the demon child as a spirit that can appear in the corporeal world when near the brands. It must be true that the child actually possesses a physical aspect since Femto steals it, but where is this body 99% of the time when the child isn't appearing to Guts or Casca to intervene? Furthermore, was the demon child chosen for the incarnation precisely because it possess a strange hybrid form? If the child hadn't appeared at the tower then would Femto have been incarnated into some random peasant? Seems risky (and it does backfire) to use such an unique creature for incarnation if any ordinary flesh will suffice.

What sort of being is the demon child? I always imagined the demon child as a spirit that can appear in the corporeal world when near the brands. It must be true that the child actually possesses a physical aspect since Femto steals it, but where is this body 99% of the time when the child isn't appearing to Guts or Casca to intervene?

He is a human being who has been corrupted by evil power while he was a mere embryo. That resulted in a misshapen body and a birth-through-miscarriage that he survived because of his supernatural abilities. He does have a corporeal body, but the corruption is such that he can't stay materialized during daylight. Like common specters, he has to hide in the shadows. Otherwise he's invisible to the corporeal world, only present in the astral world. Like his parents, he resides in the Interstice between the two worlds, but while they're only "ankle-deep" in the astral world, he's "neck-deep" in it.

Furthermore, was the demon child chosen for the incarnation precisely because it possess a strange hybrid form?

Not as far as we know. The Beherit Apostle chances upon him as he lays dying and swallows him so they can "die together". Of course, we're not privy to the machinations of the Idea of Evil, but considering the side effects this has engendered, it's not unthinkable that this was not how things were supposed to go.

Amazing! You actually managed to get Void onto your podcast! THE Void! Eldest of the God Hand, brander of the Brand! He's always so stern and authoritative whenever he's on ceremony, but off the clock, he seems like such a cool dude. I mean, once you get past the big exposed brain, sewn-shut eyes, pealed-back lips, extremely long arms, six-fingered hands, gillion-foot-tall height, and creepy voice with the deep echo, I could see myself chatting him up at Starbucks.

Besides that, great podcast. This is something that Berserk has needed for a long time. If only this could be posted on every Berserk-related community.

I've seen a couple of misconceptions that weren't quite covered here, though they did admittedly overlap with some of the things that were discussed. Like how some people were of the mistaken opinion that Casca only ever loved Griffith and never really reciprocated Guts' feelings. Or how some have come to believe that Griffth really turned a new leaf after the Incarnation Ceremony.

Oh shit! I cannot wait to listen to this one! Usually I dive right into the podcast when I see one come up, but it looks like it'll have to wait until after my shift tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it.

Thanks, especially for addressing the questions about free will and fate. I value berserk above all for its heroic aspect, when i think of berserk i see an image of a proud warrior, walking tall and forging his own destiny, not a dark horror story about a victim of a cruel world.

when i think of berserk i see an image of a proud warrior, walking tall and forging his own destiny, not a dark horror story about a victim of a cruel world.

I think there's truth in both of those outlooks, but neither are true on their own. Causality is layered on top of everything that humans do. But Guts and a few others are capable of subverting that in a few key instances.

Any idea why this episode isn't showing up in the standard Apple podcast player? I've been craving some new Berserk content (the hiatus pain is real - I'm not sure how you long-time fans have kept your sanity) and was wondering why there hadn't been a new podcast episode in awhile - and it turns out there is one! This sounds like a great episode and I can't wait to listen when Apple gets its shit together! :rickert:

Any idea why this episode isn't showing up in the standard Apple podcast player? I've been craving some new Berserk content (the hiatus pain is real - I'm not sure how you long-time fans have kept your sanity) and was wondering why there hadn't been a new podcast episode in awhile - and it turns out there is one! This sounds like a great episode and I can't wait to listen when Apple gets its shit together! :rickert:

Thanks for listening! It's late on iTunes because the way iTunes validates feeds is insanely picky. For example, I had written the month in the "wrong" way: Sept instead of Sep. I changed that a few days ago and the feed validated, so it should get up on iTunes soon. That's the Apple way!

There's a much more reliable way to get the show: By subscribing to the RSS feed that I update when I post each new episode. In iTunes, go to File > Subscribe to Podcast > (and then paste this: http://skullknight.net/podcast/rss.xml). In the Apple Podcast App, hit the + sign, then paste the RSS feed above. That's it! After that, it'll check the feed regularly. I update the feed minutes after I post each new podcast thread.

Loved the episode. Really clear and concise explanations. For the most part I had most of this figured out but you guys explained it so well that my understanding of some of these topics is even better now. Nice work.

A tad late to the party, but just finished the last morsel of listening here at work. Great work on this podcast, guys! You can bet that next time I see someone going on about Guts using the beherit, they'll be getting a link to this thread. :guts:

As a sidenote, I'm really relieved that none of the burning questions included discrepancies about the names of Guts or Casca. Those used to be so much more prevalent, sad to say.

And Aaz, you cracked me up with "take that, Tolkien!" You sure showed him, bud. :ganishka:

Listened to this when it first came out. Wanted to pop in and say it was great! It cleared up a couple things for me. I foresee this (and especially the transcribed version) being a great resource for the Berserk community in future.

Sorry, but I think I completely misunderstood something. When you talked about Griffith being unable to control his body during full moon and the part about Zodd on the cliff, were you implying that the moonlight boy is a "transformation" of Griffith's body ? Strangely, I've always thought it was something like the astral body of the boy being stuck within Griffith that could move on his own and appear physically thanks to the properties of the moon. I'm a bit lost, did I miss something ? :magni:

Anyway, this episode was really interesting to listen to, thanks a lot for your hard work and dedication ! And what a guest ! :void:

Sorry, but I think I completely misunderstood something. When you talked about Griffith being unable to control his body during full moon and the part about Zodd on the cliff, were you implying that the moonlight boy is a "transformation" of Griffith's body ?

No I'm sorry we didn't make it more clear. It's one of those concepts that we've talked about for so long that we take it for granted. Here's the origin of the idea, way back in 2006: http://www.skullknight.net/forum/index.php?topic=4321.msg118658#msg118658

So indeed, our assertion is that the boy's body is Griffith's body, and vice versa. That itself is not surprising — we know that Griffith can transform; we've known they shared a body since Vol 21 (Incarnation Ceremony); and we've known since Vol 22 (Hill of Swords) that Griffith was aware he wasn't in complete control of his body. When the boy appeared on the beach, it seems he needed Zodd to help transport him there, and he returns to that same rocky cliff as he exits. It raises the question "why Zodd?" Well, who else uses him as a vehicle? :griffnotevil: Later, he uses the World Spiral Tree's branches to transport.

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Strangely, I've always thought it was something like the astral body of the boy being stuck within Griffith that could move on his own and appear physically thanks to the properties of the moon. I'm a bit lost, did I miss something ? :magni:

That's a popular answer to this predicament, but it doesn't work for a few reasons:

1) We've seen on three occasions the boy astrally project a body. It's that white figure that speaks to Guts (eps 241, 316, 327). Under what you're positing, the boy is an astral projection who can project another astral body, which is pretty convoluted.

2) The boy is perceived by everyone as a physical being, with weight, and is subject to gravity, unlike any astral/luminous body in the series.

3) He is able to slip under Schierke's radar only because she's never been cognizant of when he's used his powers (check all three instances; in each, she's been preoccupied or unconscious). If the boy were a pure astral body, he'd stand out like fireworks to her perceptive eyes.

That's a popular answer to this predicament, but it doesn't work for a few reasons:

1) We've seen on three occasions the boy astrally project a body. It's that white figure that speaks to Guts (eps 241, 316, 327). Under what you're positing, the boy is an astral projection who can project another astral body, which is pretty convoluted.

2) The boy is perceived by everyone as a physical being, with weight, and is subject to gravity, unlike any astral/luminous body in the series.

3) He is able to slip under Schierke's radar only because she's never been cognizant of when he's used his powers (check all three instances; in each, she's been preoccupied or unconscious). If the boy were a pure astral body, he'd stand out like fireworks to her perceptive eyes.

Yeah, you're totally right, it should've raise some questions. It all makes sense now, thank you for clarifying Walter !

Just wanted to say that this is my favorite podcast of yours and thanks for the transcript. TBH it's the ideal FAQ and should be a prerequisite for commenting here and DEFINITELY on Reddit. Appreciate all you guys and gals do and that you keep your standards so high for this website and the podcast.

Just wanted to say that this is my favorite podcast of yours and thanks for the transcript. TBH it's the ideal FAQ and should be a prerequisite for commenting here and DEFINITELY on Reddit. Appreciate all you guys and gals do and that you keep your standards so high for this website and the podcast.